John blake tare



ail/sp JOHNBLAKE TARE, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,

Letters Patent No. 67,227, dated July 30, 1867.

IMPROVED GAST-STEEL CAR-WHEEL.

T0 ALL WHOM ITMAY-CONCERN: ,Y l

Beit known that I, JOHN B LAKE TAR, of Chicugo,'in the county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented'a new and improved Railroad Car-Wheel; andI do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, making a. part. oi' this specication, in whichl I Figure 1 isal verticalcentral section through a machine which is adapted for making theimproved car-wheels.

Figure 2 is an edge view cfa carwheel.` Figure 3 is a face view of the wheel. A Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts inthe severaligures. i The nature of my invention consists ini-producing railroad car-wheels of steel, by subjecting the,steel,cwhile ma liquid or semi-liquid-state within a mould,`to considerable pressure, for the purpose. of expelling the gases from the metal, condensing the fibres thereof, and thus' rendering the wheels capable of resisting the shocks l and eoncussions to which they aresubjected, and also admitting of the production of wheels without injury to the'bres of the metal, and with greater facility and less expenditure oflabor than steel car-wheels hitherto' produced, as will he hereinafter described.

y Previous to my invention steel car-wheelshave been made from'ingots byhproccsses of rolling and forging, which not only greatly injure 'the steel fibres, by elongation/ and lamination, but'to a considerable degree impair the tenacity and cohesion of the metal, so that wheels which are produced from ingots under the haLmmer, with the greatest care and bythe most experienced workmen, are very liable to bres-k under ordinary use e.

gThe following is a description of one practical mode of producing my improved car-wheels.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents the base-plate of thc machine, which forms the lower section ot' the mould within which the car-wheel is cast. B represents a. ring which produces the circumference or tread of the wheel and a portion of the ilange thereof. This ring forms the vertical section of-theimould, and it is fitted within an annular recess, which is formed in the upper face ,of the horizontal section or bedplate A, asshown in fig. 1. C represents the upper horizontal section ofthe mould, which produces the contour of the outer iac-e` ofthe wheel, and forms, in conjunction with the ring B and basesplate A, a chamber or mould within which the wheelsV A are cast and compressed. The hole, which is through the centreor lubot' the wheel, is produced by` means of a metal core D, which is made slightly tapering sol that-it can be readily withdrawn. from the mould- This core D passes through the two plates A and C, and tits snugly in holes which are made through them. VA tapering ,hole or` ingatc is made through the pla-te C, through which the metal isA poured into the mould. lThe upper end of this ingate is provided Vwith a perforated slide, a, which is fitted .between guides and used forrclosing the ingate afterpouring the metal into the mould, also for cuttingoiYthe surplus metal. More than one'ingate may be. employed, if desired, so ,that the mould can be filled by pouring the metal into it at different pointst Directlybeneath said ingate a recess is made in the upper'fuce of the mould-plate IA, imdlled with plumbago or some. other substance which-will not he readily injured by the heated metal; ,and beneath this plumbago c e a set-screw, d,'is employed for adjusting it as it wears, sous to keep its upper surfaceilush withA the surface of the mould-plate A. G G are strong pillars, which are arranged at equal' distances apart and secureiy bolted to the bed-plateiA at their lower ends, and to `a head-piece, E, at their upper ends, so as to. serve as supports for this head-piece, and also as' means for holding it-rmly against upward strain.` ThesepillarsG maybe bolted to o'sets on plate A., so that there shall be sutlicient space'betwcen them Vfor theiremoval of the wheels from the mould. Upon the head-plate E a cylinder, H, of suitable capacity, is secured, within which moves a piston, I. To this piston three or more rods d' are secured, at regular distances apart around its centre, which y `rods pass down through stuilng-hoxes applied to the head-plate E, and are secured at their lower ends to the upper section of the mould, as shown in iig. 1. The plate or follower C and piston I are parallel to each other, and their axes or centres coincide. The pistonlrods J should be applied to the plate C' and piston Iyso as to ,prevent them from tilting or losing their parallelism, otherwise the pressure upon 4the metal in the mould will be uneven, and the wheels will not be of a uniform thickness. Openings'or ports are made'at or near the upper land. lower ends of the cylinder-H, to which pipes are suitably connected, that communicate with a hydrostaticor force-pump. The opening beneath the piston I is for the purpose lof admitting liquid for raising this piston, l and the opening above the piston admits vliquid for depressing it. By this means the piston I and plate C can be raise-d and depressed by hydrostatic pressure. ,Beneath the head-plate E,'and secured to it concentrically to the axis of the cylinder AH, is a smaller cylinder, Hf, within which works a piston, L, to which a rod, 1L','is secured, the llower end of which is 'secured to the core D,"as shown in fig. 1. This piston-cylinder H also'receives liquid from a force-pump at its upper .and lower ends, by which pressure can be obtained for raising und depressing the core D'. lThe length ofst-roke of the piston I should'besuch as to admit of raising the plateC to the proper height for removing the wheel fromthe mould. The -leng'th ofv strolceof thepiston L should he such as to raise the core D ,to .the proper height to free it from the casting. Two or more adjustable hooks e' are secured intofthe upper surfacel of the plate C, near itscireumference, which, when this plate C is brought down to the position shown in 1`for pouring'th metal into themould, willrest upon ledgesfor'elevations upon ring B, and prevent said plate from further descent. Ady adjusting these hooked screws e,pla.te-C can be, caused to enter the ring B anyrequired distance, according to the hickness required of the wheels. Befoiev pressure lis applied. to the metal in the mould, the hookedscrews c are turned to one side, so as tobe released from their elevationsf. The hooltedvscrews g, which are screwed into the ring 13, are used for allowing this ringto be lifted with the section C, when it is ldesired to remove the casting from theA mould. The hooked screws L, which are screwed into the bed-plate'A, serve for holding down the ring B during the operation of pouring the metal into the mould and compressing the metal. '.lhese hooks h also serve to hold thering B down i in place when the plate C is raised, sous to allow this plate to beidetachedfrom the uppersurface of theiwheel. The hooks g are adjusted to allow this movement of plate C before the ring B is raised, after which hooks h hl are turnedfto onelside andthe ring and plate are elevated together, leavingthe wheel freevupon the bed-plate.

Before commencing the operation of-casting, it is desirable to smoke v themould, orto cover its entireinterior surface with soot,' to prevent liability of the metal burning and' adhering to the'mould. The sections A, B,- and4 C are adjusted in their properposit-ions for receiving the melted steel, after which the centra-l corel) is moved down te its place, as shown in tig. 1, vso as to leave an eye through the centre or hub of the wheeh Thegliquid steel is then poured into the mould through thclingate above described, and thel slide a. is immediately moved over the ingate,so as to cut off the upper end of the sprue and close' the opening. The hooks e are then 'turned to one side, so as to allow the plate C to be depressed by the application of hydrostatic pressure to the'. piston I, which will condense the metal whileinthe mould. After pressure, und whenlthe wheel is sufficiently cool or set, the core D is raised'free from the casting; they plate C is then raised a shortdis'tance 4to free itffrom the wheel, the hooks `7L are then turned to one side, and the ring -B and plate raised as rapidly -as possible.

It will be seen from the above description that the. wheels are produced by moulding or cast-ing, andl that the metal is subjected'to steady pressure while in the inould, and vin a condition to receive compression and condensation. This processof treating the steel while in a liquid ora' semi-liquid state, and in the mould'which kis togive it thevrequir'ed form, will uniformly condense the fibres of the metal ofv the" entire, wheel, and giveto A it an equal tenacity throughout, which cannot be done by the process hitherto adopted in making steel carwheels or parts of wheels,'of forging or rolling `steel .in gots.V .The great' strength and toughness givenoto the. wheels by my process will admit of their being made of about one-third or. one-half they weight of wheelswhich are made by any other process, and' give them', even at this reduced weight, as great, if not greater strength.

` The pressure which is applied to the wheels while in themould will not only compact or condense the ibresof the steel, but it will expel the air and gas from every part of the mould, and cause the metal to .flow to every partof the mould, so as to make a perfect casting. The compressed stel car-wheels are'not liable to` injury from the effects of extremes of heat and cold, owing to the homogeneousness or uniformity of density of thev fibres ofthe metal. For a like reason, the wheels are not liable to crack in cooling. y l A 'l While I preferV to construct the wheels of the form shown in the drawings,'I do not conne myvinvention A t0 such form 4nor doV I confine my invention to the machine herein described for' compressing and condensing the metal in the mould, us'other means which will aiord the required degree of pressuremaybe adopted;y for instance, the means shownin mypatent of-ugust 28, 18.66, will answer the purpose, but not sdwell as the. meims herein shown.

I am aware that in 1862 John Martin Rowauiled a provisional protection in Great Britain for-the applicat-ion of pressure. to steel when in a'molten state. But although he contemplated the construction ofthetires'v of car-wheels, he shows no adequate means even for the manufacture ofsuchtires, and still less for the manu#` facture of entire wheels. I am als oy aware that in 1856 Henry Bessemer obtained an English patent, in which, among other things, he contemplated thecalstng ofngots of cast steel which were compressed v'when inumolten state. I therefore make no broad claim to the exclusive use of the applicationof pressureto cast steelwhenin a molten state. But the subjectimatter of my invention is a completed cariwheel which has been subject-ed to high pressure when in a. molten state, and after being cast/*into its mould, and lthus receiving its nal general shape, so as to require no further method or forging, by means whereof its formv is rendered more perfect, its `texture more compact and uniform, ,and its strength much greater, in proportion to its weight, than when-fshioned in any other way. Y 4 I Having shown one practicable means of giving effect to my idea, what I claim as new-and desire tosecure by Letter Patent, as a new manufacture, is 'V i A cast-steel car-wheel which has been condensed by high pressure when in u. molten state. after it has received its general final shape, substantially as and for the purpose described.

Witnesses:

It. T. CAMPBELL, Eow. Sonaten.

JOHN BLKE man. 

